The Girl Frozen in Time
by Nrrrd-Grrrl-Meg
Summary: For RueTheDay's prompt, Frozen in Time. This is the District Three Tribute Girl's time from Reaping until her death in a nutshell. Read, review, enjoy.


A/N: This story is for RueTheDay's prompt, _Frozen in Time._ If you enjoy this nifty little one-shot, please review, review, review! Also, I do not own _The Hunger Games,_ nor do I own the lyrics, as they belong to _Oasis._ Enjoy! ;)

**The Girl Frozen in Time **

_Your head's in a fish tank_

_Your body and your mind can't breath_

_You're the outcast-you're the underclass_

_But you don't care-because you're living fast_

_You're the uninvited guest who stays 'til the end_

I was never remarkable; in a town full of geniuses, I was average at best. Numbers were never my thing, as they liked to play tricks on me switch places with each other. Technology was a foreign concept to me, a large part of it being my issue with numbers. I dreamt of simpler things, things I had only seen in my history books-the only subject that came easy to me. I wanted nature, animals, and space to just run and be free and dance until I fell into a field of grass and flowers. Among the downtrodden and dark haired, I was none productive, odd, frozen in time. The intellectuals mocked me, looking down on my love for all that isn't normal in District Three. My place should have been with the other children in the assembly line and not with my head in the clouds, dreaming of places I'll never see.

When the time came for second time in the Reaping bowl, I wasn't shocked at all to hear my name called. People snickered; their dark eyes glaring at me as my feet refused to move from their place. It's the old-fashion girl, the girl frozen in time. Now I was frozen, my limbs going stiff and my mind fighting my body and heart as Peacekeepers descend on me. On the stage, I can see all my tormentors, the ones that swore I would never see a life outside of the dark and dismal streets of the Technology District. Helix soon joins my side; a techno-savvy wiz-kid three years my senior and a friend of my perfect older sister Decimal, who didn't bother to come see me off, come to think of it. No one does, which is fine by me. I make no plans to come back.

The lights and bustle of the Capitol are a shock the system, when compared to the grim and mundane life of home. Neither give me a sense of comfort or joy, neither are where my heart truly lies. Helix makes empty promises to watch out for me, out of respect for Decimal, but they are hollow to my ears. He aims to make a scene, to be remembered. He almost has the chance to do so, to succeed were so few have, had it not been for the volunteer from District Twelve. The girl has a fight in her like no other and a reason to go home; a sister she put herself on the line for.

No one chants my name as our chariots pull us along, my feet firmly planted in place as they had been the day my name was called. I am utterly unforgettable, just an extra in this show of champions. The pair from Twelve are on fire, literally and figuratively, so I was able to forgive the Capitolites for their oversight of two kids decked out in silver. Even I would have looked pass myself to catch a glimpse of _The Girl on Fire._ Her determination and spunk is almost infectious, making you want to fight for survival; almost makes ME want to fight for survival, had I not already given up.

More and more, we tributes not from a Career district or Twelve fade into the background, much like I would do at home. Training gives us nothing new, our scores making barely a blip while the star of the show gets herself the near-perfect score of 11. My interview was an education in awkward, while the star's male lead comes off the victor. Bee-Tee tells me not to worry, to try my best. His advice falls on deaf ears, as I know there is nothing I can truly do. Helix has a chance, he is brilliant, sociable, and his mind isn't a mess of things from the past and numbers that just don't want to work together. There is nothing that can possibly make this any easier.

And then my tube launches.

Nature. Of all the places to find exactly what I've always wanted, its in an arena where everything and everyone wants me dead. For some reason, this all makes perfect sense. Birds chirp, the grass sways in the wind. Wind! Wind that isn't interrupted by the large factories. It's so beautiful, so serene, that I almost missed the countdown, but alas, I must move. Staying frozen won't get me anywhere, but I know that the cornucopia is a deathtrap waiting for it's chance to spring. However, I knew I needed to get something if I was to survive, my training score of two wasn't getting me any sponsors, especially since they were going to be fighting to send anything and everything to the _Star-Crossed Lovers._The Bloodbath was my only chance. With Helix on my left and crippled boy from Ten on my right, I knew it would be safe.

Zero.

Much like when my name was called at the Reaping, my legs were like tree trunks, frozen in place. It was a free-for-all; the girls from Five and Eleven bolted for the woods, as did the boy from Twelve. I should have joined them, my dream would have been realized. Instead, I am a statue, still as death. Helix screams, tells me to run. It snaps me out of my daze just enough for me to make a run for a backpack. I could see it in the distance, the bright orange pack pulls me in like a lighthouse would a ship. However, it was not a horizon that I would meet.

The boy from Five, with his dark hair and sickle, get to me first, tackling me to the ground and taking the wind out of me. Inches from me, my pack sits, undisturbed, mocking me. If I could only reach it...

...his sickle drives itself into my back, ending my dream. The grass underneath me cradles me, the breeze blows over me. It was all I ever wanted, yet it was taken from me before I had the chance to enjoy it. The girl that was so unlike District Three did the most District Three thing possible.

I died before my time in the Hunger Games.


End file.
